Minnesota Native News

This week, we’ll hear from the organizers of an Indigenous Writers Series in Duluth. The American Indian Housing Community Housing Organization, or AICHO, recently hosted State Poet Laureate Gwen Westerman and the award-winning author Linda LeGarde Grover.  Image: Moderator Jill Doerfler, Ph. D., Linda LeGarde Grover, and Gwen Westerman during the Q&A portion of the Indigenous Writers Series e...

This week, the newly established state Office of American Indian Health gets to work, a new database of Indian boarding schools helps Indigenous people trace their ancestry, and a Dallas Mavericks player honors his Standing Rock Sioux heritage on the court.

This week, the Hinckley-Finlayson School District Board officials voted unanimously to disallow a Native American student drum group to perform at their high school graduation ceremony on May 24th. The ruling garnered statewide attention. Image: Hinckley Finlayson Schools Native American Student Association Drum Group practices on the big drum. Credit: HFS NASA Advisors 

The Minneapolis American Indian Center recently re-opened after a 32.5 million dollar renovation project. IMAGE: Mary LaGarde (left) cuts a portion of the ribbon for the new Minneapolis American Indian Center while Dawn Paro (Center) and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan look on. 

This week, a group of organizations expressed support for tribal land transfer bills at the state legislature, a heroic Indigenous Girl Scout won a prestigious award for her lifesaving efforts, information about tribal elections season, and a reminder about upcoming Native recognition during May.  

This is Minnesota Native News. I’m Marie Rock. This week, Minnesota Lynx draft part Samoan, part Alaska Native Alissa Pili, the Red Lake Nation College opens its new urban site in Minneapolis; and a celebration of Donald Eubanks’ life – an Indigenous-Black community member who, during his life, worked for the State, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians Tribe, Metro State University, among others,...

This week, the University of Minnesota is considering a new policy for how it conducts research with indigenous communities, the Minnesota Indian Area Agency on Aging plans to establish a new service, the building of an outdoor smudging space at Shakopee High School, and Bemidji State University establishes an online book club for indigenous high school students.

A new bill proposes to transfer state lands encompassing Upper Red Lake in northern Minnesota to the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. Although this proposal at the legislature is recent, the idea of tribal jurisdiction over the Upper area of Red Lake is a long-standing affair.  For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media.  instagram.com/ampersradio/ instagram.com/mnnativenews/  ...

"Misi-zaaga'iganiing" Shoe Design by Adrienne Benjamin of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Courtesy of Adrienne Benjamin  For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media.  instagram.com/ampersradio/ instagram.com/mnnativenews/   Never miss a beat. Sign up for our email list to receive news, updates and content releases from AMPERS. ampers.org/about-ampers/staytuned/   This show is ma...

This week, the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resources Center (MIWRC) welcomed Ruth Anna Buffalo, the organization's new CEO. (Image: Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center Logo, Credit: MIWRC) 

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community’s $5 million dollar campaign to indigenize K12 curriculum has ended with some major accomplishments. Three Native educators explain their contributions. 

This week’s headlines include The Return of the Cloquet Forestry Center Lands, a newly available Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relative’s license plate, and the showing of Bear Grease , an Indigenous spin on the classic musical, Grease . 

For nearly a decade, the Minneapolis Native community has gathered in the East Phillips neighborhood to keep the missing or murdered Indigenous relatives in the collective consciousness. All too often, Native people are simply not given the same attention as their white counterparts. This Day of Action is a wake-up call to for the public to learn how drastic of an issue this is for the Native comm...

This week's Minnesota Native News Headlines include an update from Camp Nenookasi and the transfer of the Upper Sioux Agency Park, and updates in tribal leadership across the state. 

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, was recently amended, and the new rules became effective this year. Photo: NAGPRA Logo

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community are reintroducing themselves to the Buffalo nation, welcoming them back to their Dakota homelands here in Minnesota. Reintroduction of buffalo enhances the prairies on tribal lands in Minnesota by promoting biodiversity. Photo Credit SMSC.

All My Relations Art Gallery in Minneapolis was the site of a brand-new Indigenous winter arts market.  (Image Description: My Relations Art Gallery entrance with a sign inviting shoppers to the Winter Artisan Fair. Photo by Chandra Colvin)

This week on Minnesota Native News, we revisit a story from May 2021 about Ojibwe Language revitalization in Minnesota.  Image description: Memegwesi harvesting wild rice (Courtesy of Memegwesi Sutherland)

On this week’s Headlines: a controversial Indigenous encampment for unhoused relatives was cleared in Minneapolis, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community partners with the University of Minnesota on deer research, and Indigenous people nationwide celebrate a historic film victory.

The Minneapolis American Indian Center renovation project enters its final stages. For the past year, the Minneapolis American Indian Center has been undergoing major renovations- Travis Zimmerman has the story. IMAGE: Architectural renderings of the completed project, courtesy of the Minneapolis American Indian Center.

The City of Red Wing recently closed a dog park that stood on top of Dakota burial mounds. The move was made possible by the Prairie Island Indian Community and the City’s memorandum of understanding — an unusual arrangement that lets them work together on big local decisions. PHOTO: Representatives of the City of Red Wing and the Prairie Island Indian Community meet to discuss plans for a local l...

This week, a Bemidji resident receives an unsung hero award, several Minnesota Indigenous leaders were chosen to participate in the 2023 Native Nation Rebuilders Cohort, and Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan becomes the first Native woman to lead a national party committee at the Tribal Nations Summit in Washington, D.C., and the National Hockey League gets called out for more racist policies...

Announcer: This is Minnesota Native News. This week, the Minneapolis Institute of Art is currently holding an exhibition focusing on indigenous photography from the late 1890’s to the present day. Reporter Chandra Colvin has the story.   Chandra Colvin: In October, the Minneapolis Institute of Art, also known as the MIA, opened an exhibition focused on Native Photography titled, “In Our Hands.” Th...

Located inside the Indigenous Roots Cultural Arts Center, the Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center held its Grand Opening. Offering traditional Indigenous healing modalities and a variety hand crafted self-care products, the Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center supports local native artists and aims to bring Indigenous community members together in a safe space for healing. For the latest ep...

For the latest episode drops and updates, follow us on social media.  instagram.com/ampersradio/ instagram.com/mnnativenews/   Never miss a beat. Sign up for our email list to receive news, updates and content releases from AMPERS. ampers.org/about-ampers/staytuned/   This show is made possible by community support. Due to cuts in federal funding, the community radio you love is at risk. Your supp...